Real Wedding – Caitlin & Andrew, Teesdale VIC
For lockdown lovers Caitlin and Andrew, their dream day was about surrounding themselves with fun and festivities with their family and friends, supported by a truly talented team of ultra-incredible vendors.
And wow, what a vision of sophisticated revelry and modern romance they created.
Olivia of By Plush realised a soft white palette in textural symphonies that are truly breathtaking. Artfully whimsical yet elegant florals by Miss Lillypilly elevate the overall effect, while chic white on white tablescapes and decor allows stunning Woolbrook to shine to perfection.
Caitlin wears two jaw-droppingly impactful gowns; the first by Kyha Studios gives modern fairytale, while her party gown by Liz Martinez at Bluebell Bridal is the embodiment of romantic chic, especially paired with a statement Meggan Morimoto heel. The radiant effervescence between her and Andrew is infectiously uplifting, with every light-filled moment captured with true artistry by Tess Follett and Sea of Love Film.
With Melbourne Entertainment Co. behind the soundtrack, the party heated up as the sun went down, and the newlyweds made their epic mark on the dance floor.
The meeting.
It was Covid lockdown in Melbourne – the skies were grey and we were all gloomy. Lucky for me, I met Andrew!
We met mid-Melbourne lockdown in 2020 via the dating app Hinge. A lockdown was announced on the Thursday afternoon prior to our scheduled date on the Friday, but it didn’t stop us from a cheeky walk and wine in our neighbourhood!
The ‘one’.
For me it was love at first sight after five minutes of being in Andrew’s joyful presence. For Andrew, it was when we visited his newly built home on the Bellarine Peninsula and he began to imagine our life together.
The proposal.
Andrew is a meticulous organiser and planner! After I had moved completely from Melbourne and had resigned from Melbourne work, I received an email from Andrew to my new work email address. Andrew had planned an “Explore the Bellarine” month in August 2022 where each weekend he had organised for us to explore a new local place or business near our new home. On the final weekend of August, Andrew had arranged a romantic weekend getaway, which was cleverly planned to ‘put me off the scent’ from the real proposal weekend – the weekend earlier!
Andrew proposed where we had our first lunch out on the Bellarine, at Basil’s Farm. Despite me having a terrible virus and the rain pouring sideways when we woke up on the morning of – the sun came out and Andrew executed the proposal perfectly, surprising me with all our immediate family watching from the restaurant.
Style inspiration.
Andrew and I love classic and traditional styling. We both have a love for being in the countryside and adore old character rich farmhouses. We let our venue speak for itself and complemented the homestead with classic whites, greys and traditional styling.
Meeting with Olivia our wedding planner was the most helpful in figuring out how to execute our vision. We drew a lot of other inspiration from Instagram and pinterest, following our love for classic and soft styling.
The ceremony.
We adored our ceremony location so much. What is not to love about beautiful gardens surrounding a homestead! Andrew and I felt this type of location was the most ‘us,’ we often spend our weekends in our garden or on a long nature walk. The most special part of our ceremony was having all of our immediate family present. We were so grateful for this.
The outfits.
Andrew was lucky as he headed straight to one of his favourite men’s stores in Melbourne, Menz Club. Andrew loves traditional dressing and chose a classic full black tie suit with patent shoes.
My dress hunting task differed a little from this! I was very lucky to be accompanied by one of my bridesmaids to a couple of unplanned appointments – and spine-shivery as it could be – at the first appointment we both fell in love with a dress by Liz Martinez, which was called “Ariel” the only dress that didn’t sell in sample sale. Ariel was the name of my Mother’s Mum (my Nana) who passed away recently and wasn’t able to make it to our wedding. It was like I had my Nana with me on our wedding day. This became my second party dress. My ceremony dress was my all time favourite fairytale dress made by KHYA studios.
Favourite moment.
Reading our vows in front of our nearest and dearest was our favourite part. It is the most love-filled memory we will treasure forever. Having our dear family friend Kate as our celebrant to marry us was another unforgettable part. It all felt so intimate.
Meaning of marriage.
It confirms a commitment of love and support to each other. It means creating and nurturing the team you have together, helping each other to be the best versions of ourselves. Also, it means making each other a morning coffee in bed!
Wedding soundtrack.
Our aisle song was State of Grace by Taylor Swift, mainly because it was truer than true for us, ‘I never saw you (Andrew) coming!’
We entered into our reception with full blown 2009 pop energy with Sexy Bitch by David Guetta.
Funny stories (or near disasters).
Not a disaster, but hilarious timing! One of my beautiful bridesmaids fell pregnant after I requested her special presence on our day. She was due nine days before our wedding! We all kept involved in the planning (of both wedding and baby arrivals!) and we made the call a week out from the wedding that she was better off being close to her hospital and not at our regional wedding venue! Their beautiful baby boy arrived after the wedding at 42 weeks – he took his time – but we forgave him because of his cuteness!
Planning surprises.
We were surprised by the amount of planning. Oh my goodness me I don’t think we have ever been busier in our whole lives. I thought I would feel more romantic and fairy-tale through the whole process, but honestly it is like a second full time job!
Words of wisdom.
Invest in a wedding planner (really what we are saying is invest in Olivia Plush, ByPlush wedding planning!). It is the one thing that will save your sanity, especially if you work full time. I thought “I’ve got this” and opted for On the Day Coordination only, before asking Olivia for her advice on what services I might need. I am so thankful I listened to an expert. We would never have pulled our wedding off without Olivia managing the humungous planning.
Other pearls of wisdom would be to say YES to offers of help and delegate delegate DELEGATE to your wedding party. Write them a list of jobs from both of you to action on the day. It is impossible to remember everything on your own ‘to do lists’ on the day – the day is huge. What we wish we had done is give one person a job to place food into our mouths (trust us, you won’t eat!) and another person to monitor our sips of champagne. You absolutely forget how much you’re drinking with expert caterers filling your glass and the two of you being swept up in all the emotion!
When it comes to wedding planning, being organised is crucial for arriving at your dream day feeling relaxed and radiant. This is where we come in – with our suite of planning resources, including free downloadables and our very own Wedding Plans book, you can be assured you’ve dealt with every last detail – and done it in style!
CAITLIN & ANDREW’S VENDORS
I tried as best I could to find local suppliers. Andrew and I love to support local small and/or family run businesses. I also took advice from close friends who had connections in the industry or who had previously been married. I feel so lucky to have had SUCH a dream team of people around us for our wedding day!
Ceremony & reception venue: Woolbrook Homestead, Teesdale Vic. We found Woolbrook after moving to the Bellarine Peninsula/ Geelong. Anise and Lachie are a dream to work with! We feel very lucky to have held our wedding at Woolbrook.
Celebrant: Kate Moody. Kate is a family friend of my family and she was the reason our ceremony was so special! Kate executed her celebrant role to utter perfection and opened our big day with calmness, joy and fun. Seeing Kate at the end of the isle was a sigh of reassuring relief for both of us! Kate made both of us feel so calm and at ease.
Photography: Tess Follett. We had an absolutely killer sibling duo smashing our photography and videography. Tess and Nathan are dead set seasoned professionals. From the time we first met Tess and Nathan, we knew we were going to be in the best hands. Tess is a glowing ray of joy and a ball of fun, making anyone in front of her lens feel like an A-grade celebrity. We couldn’t get enough of Tess’s excited energy (refer to our gleaming OTT grins) and she even had to tell me “ok a little less twirl” during sunset photos because she made me feel so excited. No questions asked, Tess is the only photographer to ever book!! Tess, you’re a true one in a million!
Videography: Nathan Follett, Sea of Love Film. Nathan seamlessly swept in and captured every candid and raw moment of our wedding day. So seamless and stealth he was, that almost half our guest list asked us in surprise “we didn’t know you had a videographer?!” Nathan is a cool calm King. His work was incredible and he made it look effortless. Nathan, thank you for sharing your unforgettable skills with us!
Styling: Olivia Plush, By Plush. Liv, we have no words. Liv made our dream day come true. There is simply no other choice when deciding who will plan your wedding! We were beyond lucky when owners of our venue Anise and Lachie suggested that we contact Olivia. We didn’t know what was coming with wedding planning, and we wouldn’t have survived it without Liv’s help. From meticulous planning tasks to emotional support in helping to convince me to purchase my dream KHYA dress, Liv felt like a supportive best friend through it all!! Liv had all our guests and bridal party in awe of her effortless coordinating and managing. A ray of sunshine, epically efficient, knowledgeable, calm, bubbly and full of creative ideas – how did we get so lucky!
Florist: Miss Lillypilly, Drysdale, Vicki Wiggins. Vicki and her flowers are a match made in heaven. I first found Vicki when some of her floral hat boxes were delivered to my previous workplace. I will never forget how beautiful the hat box bouquets were. I was so grateful to find Vicki and to be able to support local Bellarine business. Vicki felt like a friend I had known for years after an instant and I knew it was meant to be when she had glasses of wine ready for us when we met to plan wedding florals. Vicki took my vision and filled my traditional floral dreams, adding varieties I hadn’t heard of, but that she knew I would love. My favourite florist. You’re a gem, Vicki, thank you!
Hair: Alex Fielding. Alex is a GEM! I’ve always had massive insecurities about my thin hair, and Alex put up with me needing three hair trials pre-wedding to work out what made me feel most confident. Alex swept in and left us all looking like celebrities in a matter of hours. I can truly say I have never had more perfect hair, or a more perfect bun. I felt so ME. Thank you Alex!
Make-up: Georgia Glen. How does one describe Georgia’s make up artist-ing?! Impossible! Georgia would be my only choice. I’ve had my make up done a few times in my life and never have I loved it more than when Georgia first did my make up! Georgia is incredible and she made me truly feel like a princess. I was so lucky to have the tiniest connection and booked Georgia before she had a million weddings on every weekend of 2024!
The dresses: Liz Martinez (Bluebell Bridal) & Khya Studios. Emily at Bluebell is a real life angel! Emily went above and beyond to alter my Liz Martinez dress, spending hours on every tiny detail to make sure the dress felt perfect. I owe Emily a ginormous thank you!
Veil : Bluebell Bridal, Melbourne
Shoes: Badgley Mischka & Meggan Morimoto. PSA to future brides, you MUST invest in Meggan Morimoto shoes, they are especially made for brides surviving in high heels all day, the soles are to die for! My feet lasted in stilettos all night, evidence that they work!!
Rings: Private Family Jeweller
Bridesmaid’s dresses: Hexie & custom. I will never stop being obsessed with my bridesmaids dress designs from Hexie. Harmony was so helpful when I needed advice ordering dresses. Beautiful and such high quality fabric and styling, a dream!
Suits & bow ties/ ties: Menz Club Melbourne
Catering & bar: Truffleduck. (From what we remember) and from what our guests don’t stop telling us.. Truffleduck’s food was pure deliciousness! We were so lucky to have the best in the biz managing our catering. These guys don’t mess around, and everything was utter perfection. Kristie helped us through the entire process and she was an absolute professional to work with. Kristie was so cheery and bright and helped us to understand all the ins and outs we needed to know. Thank you so much Kristie!
Favours: Caitlin & Andrew (personalised notes)
Cake / Cake topper: Love It Cakes, Sonia & Jasmine. Geelong’s most DELICIOUS cakes… by Sonia and Jasmine! If you love lemon vanilla cake like we do, a visit to their Geelong store is a MUST! Sonia went above and beyond to find us floral arrangements that matched our cake perfectly, she even went to visit multiple florists for us. Sonia and Jasmine are true gems, thank you!
Stationery / Signage: Vh.Designs, Victoria Hommelhoff. Vic knew we loved traditional styling and design and she whizzed up mock ups true to our vision! Thank you Vic for sharing your special design skills for our wedding day.
Entertainment: Melbourne Entertainment Co, Kristen & Jeremy. Kristen and Jeremy, just WOW is all. Kristen was the perfect addition to our ceremony! I was sad that I didn’t get to see or speak to her much during the day in amongst it all, but she created such a beautiful warm and happy atmosphere. Jeremy blew all our guests away with his DJ and Sax skills, I’ve never had more fun on a dance floor in my whole life!
Transport: Abda Buses, Geelong
Décor: Elderberry Event Hire and ELL Events (Grace Liston). Grace supplies the most stunning and high quality linen and table styling from her own business! Again, it was so lovely to support local business. Grace’s linen made the whole reception look breathtaking!
Hire: As above
Honeymoon: Europe 2024!
Other: Props & other guest favour stationary from Etsy: The Essential Bride Co. QLD, Detaylz Creative Studio QLD, Bridge Lane Designs Sydney & With Love Jessie Shop.